Lettuce variety 79-25 RZ

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a  Lactuca sativa  seed designated 79-25 RZ, which exhibits resistance to downy mildew races Bl:1 to Bl:28 and CA-I, CA-IIA, CA-IIB, CA-III to CA-VIII ( Bremia lactucae  Regel), as well as deeply red, crisp, deeply-incised, nicely-filled leaves, and a small plant size. The present invention also relates to a  Lactuca sativa  plant produced by growing the 79-25 RZ seed. The invention further relates to methods for producing the lettuce cultivar, represented by lettuce variety 79-25 RZ.

RELATED APPLICATIONS AND INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent applicationSer. No. 61/552,814 filed Oct. 28, 2011.

The foregoing applications, and all documents cited therein or duringtheir prosecution (“appln cited documents”) and all documents cited orreferenced herein (“herein cited documents”), and all documents cited orreferenced in herein cited documents, together with any manufacturer'sinstructions, descriptions, product specifications, and product sheetsfor any products mentioned herein or in any document incorporated byreference herein, are hereby incorporated herein by reference, and maybe employed in the practice of the invention. More specifically, allreferenced documents are incorporated by reference to the same extent asif each individual document was specifically and individually indicatedto be incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new lettuce (Lactuca sativa) varietywhich exhibits resistance against downy mildew races Bl:1 to Bl:28 andCA-I, CA-IIA, CA-IIB, CA-III to CA-VIII (Bremia lactucae) as well asdeeply red, crisp, deeply-incised, nicely-frilled leaves, and smallsize.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

All cultivated forms of lettuce belong to the highly polymorphicspecies, Lactuca sativa, which is grown for its edible head and leaves.As a crop, lettuces are grown commercially wherever environmentalconditions permit the production of an economically viable yield.

Lactuca sativa is in the Cichoreae tribe of the Asteraceae (Compositae)family. Lettuce is related to chicory, sunflower, aster, scorzonera,dandelion, artichoke and chrysanthemum. Lactuca sativa is one of about300 species in the genus Lactuca.

Lettuce cultivars are susceptible to a number of pests and diseases suchas downy mildew (Bremia lactucae). Every year this disease leads tomillions of dollars of lost lettuce crop throughout the world. Downymildew (Bremia lactucae) is highly destructive on lettuce grown atrelatively low temperature and high humidity. Downy mildew is caused bya fungus, Bremia lactucae, which can be one of the following strains:NL1, NL2, NL4, NL5, NL6, NL7, NL10, NL12, NL13, NL14, NL15, NL16, Bl:17,Bl:18, Bl:20, Bl:21, Bl:22, Bl:23, Bl:24, Bl:25, Bl:26, Bl:27, Bl:28(Van Ettekoven, K. et al., “Identification and denomination of ‘new’races of Bremia lactucae,” In: Lebeda, A. and Kristkova, E (eds.),Eucarpia Leafy Vegetables, 1999, Palacky University, Olomouc, CzechRepublic, pp. 171-175; Van der Arend et al. “Identification anddenomination of “new” races of Bremia lactucae in Europe by IBEB until2002.” In: Van Hintum, Th et al. (eds.), Eucarpia Leafy VegetablesConference 2003, Centre for Genetic Resources, Wageningen, TheNetherlands, p. 151; Plantum NL (Dutch association for breeding, tissueculture, production and trade of seeds and young plants); IBEB pressrelease “New race of Bremia lactucae Bl:27 identified and nominated”,May 2010; Plantum NL (Dutch association for breeding, tissue culture,production and trade of seeds and young plants), “New race of Bremialactucae Bl:28 identified and nominated”, March 2011), Ca-I, Ca-IIA,Ca-IIB, Ca-III, Ca-IV (Schettini, T. M., Legg, E. J., Michelmore, R. W.,1991. Insensitivity to metalaxyl in California populations of Bremialactucae and resistance of California lettuce cultivars to downy mildew.Phytopathology 81(1). p. 64-70, and Ca-V, Ca-VI, Ca-VII, Ca-VIII(Michelmore R. & Ochoa. O. “Breeding Crisphead Lettuce.” In: CaliforniaLettuce Research Board, Annual Report 2005-2006, 2006, Salinas, Calif.,pp. 55-68).

Downy mildew causes pale, angular, yellow areas bounded by veins on theupper leaf surfaces. Sporulation occurs on the opposite surface of theleaves. The lesions eventually turn brown, and they may enlarge andcoalesce. These symptoms typically occur first on the lower leaves ofthe lettuce, but under ideal conditions may move into the upper leavesof the head. When the fungus progresses to this degree, the head cannotbe harvested. Less severe damage requires the removal of more leavesthan usual, especially when the lettuce reaches its final destination.

Although several known lettuce cultivars exhibit resistance againstdowny mildew, irrespective of lettuce type, many lettuce cultivarsaffected produce large leaves that, when cut to smaller size piecesgenerally result in a lot of cut surface resulting in a diminished shelflife with respect to wound-induced discoloration of these cut surfaces.

At present the attractive red color in pre-packed lettuce mixtures isoften provided by plant species other than Lactuca sativa. Use is madeof radicchio rosso (Cichorium intybus), red cabbage or red-veinedspinach or red-veined chard. The disadvantage of using leaves from othervegetables than lettuce is that the different taste of these othervegetables is often experienced as undesirable. Radicchio rosso is forexample a Cichorium intybus that has a bitter taste. For taste,red-leaved lettuce (Lactuca sativa) is usually preferred over otherred-leaved species.

In many parts of the world it is preferred to grow lettuce in plastictunnels and glasshouses, instead of in the open field, to avoid theadverse effects of cold temperatures and/or precipitation on plantgrowth, yield and quality.

The red leaf color of lettuce is caused by anthocyanin in the leaves. Anintensely red colored leaf corresponds with a very high concentration ofanthocyanin in that leaf. Anthocyanin is an antioxidant, whichcontributes to the healthy image of lettuce. Its expression is promotedby UV-light. UV-light is only partly transmitted by glass and plastic.This means that anthocyanin expression of lettuce grown in a glasshouseor plastic tunnel, i.e. indoor production, is less than in the openfield, resulting in less red lettuce plants. To compensate for thereduced anthocyanin expression under glass or plastic, indoor lettucegrowers prefer to grow more deeply red lettuce varieties.

Lack of UV-light also promotes cell expansion in young leaves duringgrowth, resulting in large, soft-leaved lettuce plants in indoorproduction. The large, fluffy plant habit and the soft leaf texture isdisliked by growers and processors, because it often results in handlingdamage during harvest. Indoor lettuce growers therefore prefer lettucevarieties that tend to stay small in size.

Although several known lettuce cultivars can be harvested mechanicallyat young plant, i.e. the babyleaf stage, no pest and disease resistantlettuce cultivars exist that can be grown under glass or plastic,harvested mechanically at mature stage and still provide leaf piecesthat are of small, directly edible size and have an attractive mediumred color. Mechanical harvesting saves labor cost and improves laborconditions in comparison with commonly applied hand-harvesting methods.

Citation or identification of any document in this application is not anadmission that such document is available as prior art to the presentinvention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

There exists a need, therefore, for deeply red, lettuce variety whichexhibits resistance against downy mildew (Bremia lactucae) and issuitable for growing indoors.

The present invention addresses this need by providing a new type oflettuce (Lactuca sativa) variety, designated 79-25 RZ. Lettuce cultivar79-25 RZ exhibits a combination traits including resistance to downymildew races Bl:1 to Bl:28 and CA-I, CA-IIA, CA-IIB, CA-III to CA-VIII(Bremia lactucae Regel), as well as deeply red, crisp, deeply-incised,nicely-filled leaves, and a small plant size.

The present invention provides seeds of lettuce cultivar 79-25 RZ, whichhave been deposited with the National Collections of Industrial, Marineand Food Bacteria (NCIMB) in Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB21 9YA, Scotland, UKand have been assigned NCIMB Accession No. 41873.

In one embodiment, the invention provides a lettuce plant which mayexhibit a combination of traits including resistance to downy mildewraces Bl:1 to Bl:28 and CA-I, CA-IIA, CA-IIB, CA-III to CA-VIII, (Bremialactucae Regel), as well as deeply red, crisp, deeply-incised,nicely-filled leaves, and a small plant size, representative seed ofwhich have been deposited under NCIMB Accession No. 41873.

In one embodiment, the invention provides a lettuce plant which mayexhibit a combination of traits including resistance to downy mildewraces Bl:1 to Bl:28 and CA-I, CA-IIA, CA-IIB, CA-III to CA-VIII, (Bremialactucae Regel), deeply red, crisp, deeply-incised, nicely-filledleaves, and a small plant size, and bolts very rapidly, representativeseed of which have been deposited under NCIMB Accession No. 41873, orlettuce variety or cultivar designated 79-25 RZ, as well as seed fromsuch a plant, plant parts of such a plant (such as those mentionedherein) and plants from such seed and/or progeny of such a plant,advantageously progeny exhibiting such combination of such traits, eachof which, is within the scope of the invention; and such combination oftraits.

In one embodiment, the invention provides a lettuce plant designated79-25 RZ, representative seed of which have been deposited under NCIMBAccession No. 41873.

In an embodiment of the present invention, there also is provided partsof a lettuce plant of the invention, which may include parts of alettuce plant exhibiting a combination of traits including resistance todowny mildew races Bl:1 to Bl:28 and CA-I, CA-IIA, CA-IIB, CA-III toCA-VIII, (Bremia lactucae Regel), as well as deeply red, crisp,deeply-incised, nicely-frilled leaves, and a small plant size, or partsof a lettuce plant having any of the aforementioned resistance(s) and acombination of traits which may include one or more morphological orphysiological characteristics tabulated herein, including parts oflettuce variety 79-25 RZ, wherein the plant parts are involved in sexualreproduction, which include, without limitation, microspores, pollen,ovaries, ovules, embryo sacs or egg cells and/or wherein the plant partsare suitable for vegetative reproduction, which include, withoutlimitation, cuttings, roots, stems, cells or protoplasts and/or whereinthe plant parts are tissue culture of regenerable cells in which thecells or protoplasts of the tissue culture are derived from a tissuesuch as, for example and without limitation, leaves, pollen, embryos,cotyledon, hypocotyls, meristematic cells, roots, root tips, anthers,flowers, seeds or stems. The plants of the invention from which suchparts may come from include those wherein representative seed of whichhas been deposited under NCIMB Accession No. 41873.

In another embodiment there is a plant grown from seeds, representativeseed of which having been deposited under NCIMB Accession No. 41873. Ina further embodiment there is a plant regenerated from theabove-described plant parts or regenerated from the above-describedtissue culture. Advantageously such a plant may have morphologicaland/or physiological characteristics of lettuce variety 79-25 RZ and/orof a plant grown from seed, representative seed of which having beendeposited under NCIMB Accession No. NCIMB 41873—including withoutlimitation such plants having all of the morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of lettuce variety 79-25 RZ and/or of plant grown fromseed, representative seed of which having been deposited under NCIMBAccession No. NCIMB 41873. Advantageously, such a plant demonstrates thetraits of resistance to downy mildew races Bl:1 to Bl:28, CA-I, CA-IIA,CA-IIB, CA-III to CA-VIII (Bremia lactucae Regel) as well as deeply red,crisp, deeply-incised, nicely-frilled leaves, and a small plant size.

Accordingly, in still a further embodiment, there is provided a lettuceplant having all of the morphological and physiological characteristicsof lettuce variety 79-25 RZ, representative seed of which having beendeposited under NCIMB Accession No. 41873. Such a plant may be grownfrom the seeds, regenerated from the above-described plant parts, orregenerated from the above-described tissue culture. A lettuce planthaving any of the aforementioned resistance(s), and one or moremorphological or physiological characteristics recited or tabulatedherein, and a lettuce plant advantageously having all of theaforementioned resistances and the characteristics recited and tabulatedherein, are preferred. Parts of such plants—such as those plant partsabove-mentioned—are encompassed by the invention.

In one embodiment, there is provided progeny of lettuce cultivar 79-25RZ produced by sexual or vegetative reproduction, grown from seeds,regenerated from the above-described plant parts, or regenerated fromthe above-described tissue culture of the lettuce cultivar or a progenyplant thereof, representative seed of which having been deposited underNCIMB Accession No. 41873. The progeny may have any of theaforementioned resistance(s), and one or more morphological orphysiological characteristics recited or tabulated herein, and a lettuceplant advantageously having all of the aforementioned resistances andthe characteristics recited and tabulated herein, are preferred.Advantageously, the progeny demonstrate the traits of resistance todowny mildew races Bl:1 to Bl:28, CA-I, CA-IIA, CA-IIB, CA-III toCA-VIII (Bremia lactucae Regel) as well as deeply red, crisp,deeply-incised, nicely-frilled leaves, and a small plant size.

Progeny of the lettuce variety 79-25 RZ may be modified in one or moreother characteristics, in which the modification is a result of, forexample and without limitation, mutagenesis or transformation with atransgene.

In still another embodiment, the present invention provides progeny oflettuce cultivar 79-25 RZ produced by sexual or vegetative reproduction,grown from seeds, regenerated from the above-described plant parts, orregenerated from the above-described tissue culture of the lettucecultivar or a progeny plant thereof, in which the regenerated plantshows a combination of traits including resistance to downy mildew racesBl:1 to Bl:28 and CA-I, CA-IIA, CA-IIB, CA-III to CA-VIII (Bremialactucae Regel), as well as deeply red, crisp, deeply-incised,nicely-frilled leaves, and a small plant size.

In still a further embodiment, the invention may comprise a method ofproducing a hybrid lettuce seed which may comprise crossing a firstparent lettuce plant with a second parent lettuce plant and harvestingthe resultant hybrid lettuce seed, in which the first parent lettuceplant or the second parent lettuce plant may be a lettuce plant of theinvention, e.g. a lettuce plant having a combination of traits includingresistance to downy mildew races Bl:1 to Bl:28 and CA-I, CA-IIA, CA-IIB,CA-III to CA-VIII (Bremia lactucae Regel), as well as deeply red, crisp,deeply-incised, nicely-filled leaves, and a small plant size and one ormore morphological or physiological characteristics tabulated herein,including a lettuce plant of lettuce cultivar 79-25 RZ, representativeseed of which having been deposited under NCIMB 41873.

In another embodiment, the invention may comprise producing a lettuceplant having a combination of traits including resistance to downymildew races Bl:1 to Bl:28 and CA-I, CA-IIA, CA-IIB, CA-III to CA-VIII(Bremia lactucae Regel), as well as deeply red, crisp, deeply-incised,nicely-frilled leaves, and a small plant size which may comprise:crossing a mother lettuce plant with a father lettuce plant to produce ahybrid seed; growing said hybrid seed to produce a hybrid plant; selfingsaid hybrid seed to produce F2 progeny seed; selecting said F2-plantsfor exhibiting a combination of traits including resistance to downymildew races Bl:1 to Bl:28 and CA-I, CA-IIA, CA-IIB, CA-III to CA-VIII(Bremia lactucae Regel), as well as deeply red, crisp, deeply-incised,nicely-filled leaves, and a small plant size.

Advantageously the selfing and selection may be repeated; for example atleast once, or at least twice, thrice, four times, five times, six timesor more, to produce F3 or F4 or F5 or F6 or subsequent progeny,especially as progeny from F2 may exhibit the aforementioned combinationof traits, and may be desirable.

In still a further embodiment, the invention may comprise a method ofproducing a lettuce cultivar containing a combination of traitsincluding resistance to downy mildew races Bl:1 to Bl:28 and CA-I,CA-IIA, CA-IIB, CA-III to CA-VIII (Bremia lactucae Regel), as well asdeeply red, crisp, deeply-incised, nicely-frilled leaves, and a smallplant size.

The invention even further relates to a method of producing lettucewhich may comprise: (a) cultivating to the vegetative plant stage aplant of lettuce variety 79-25 RZ, representative seed of which havingbeen deposited under NCIMB Accession No. NCIMB 41873, and (b) harvestinglettuce leaves or heads from the plant. The invention furthercomprehends packaging the lettuce plants, heads or leaves.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to not encompass withinthe invention any previously known product, process of making theproduct, or method of using the product such that Applicants reserve theright and hereby disclose a disclaimer of any previously known product,process, or method. It is further noted that the invention does notintend to encompass within the scope of the invention any product,process, or making of the product or method of using the product, whichdoes not meet the written description and enablement requirements of theUSPTO (35 U.S.C. §112, first paragraph) or the EPO (Article 83 of theEPC), such that Applicants reserve the right and hereby disclose adisclaimer of any previously described product, process of making theproduct, or method of using the product.

It is noted that in this disclosure and particularly in the claims,terms such as “comprises”, “comprised”, and “comprising” and the like(e.g., “includes”, “included”, “including”, “contains”, “contained”,“containing”, “has”, “had”, “having”, etc.) can have the meaningascribed to them in US patent law, i.e., they are open ended terms. Forexample, any method that “comprises,” “has” or “includes” one or moresteps is not limited to possessing only those one or more steps and alsocovers other unlisted steps. Similarly, any plant that “comprises,”“has” or “includes” one or more traits is not limited to possessing onlythose one or more traits and covers other unlisted traits. Similarly,the terms “consists essentially of” and “consisting essentially of” havethe meaning ascribed to them in US patent law, e.g., they allow forelements not explicitly recited, but exclude elements that are found inthe prior art or that affect a basic or novel characteristic of theinvention. See also MPEP §2111.03. In addition, the term “about” is usedto indicate that a value includes the standard deviation of error forthe device or method being employed to determine the value.

These and other embodiments are disclosed or are obvious from andencompassed by, the following Detailed Description.

Deposit

The Deposit with NCIMB Ltd, Ferguson Building, Craibstone Estate,Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB21 9YA, UK, on Oct. 17, 2011, under depositaccession number NCIMB 41873 was made pursuant to the terms of theBudapest Treaty. Upon issuance of a patent, all restrictions upon thedeposit will be removed, and the deposit is intended to meet therequirements of 37 CFR §1.801-1.809. The deposit will be maintained inthe depository for a period of 30 years, or 5 years after the lastrequest, or for the effective life of the patent, whichever is longer,and will be replaced if necessary during that period.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following detailed description, given by way of example, but notintended to limit the invention solely to the specific embodimentsdescribed, may best be understood in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of six different shapes of the fourth leaffrom a 20-day old seedling grown under optimal conditions.

FIG. 2 is a picture of the fourth leaf of 79-25 RZ.

FIG. 3 is a picture of a mature leaf of 79-25 RZ.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides methods and compositions relating to plants,seeds and derivatives of a new lettuce variety herein referred to aslettuce variety 79-25 RZ. Lettuce variety 79-25 RZ is a uniform andstable line, distinct from other such lines.

In a preferred embodiment, the specific type of breeding method employedfor developing a lettuce cultivar is pedigree selection, where bothsingle plant selection and mass selection practices are employed.Pedigree selection, also known as the “Vilmorin system of selection,” isdescribed in Fehr, W., Principles of Cultivar Development, Volume I,MacMillan Publishing Co., which is hereby incorporated by reference.

When pedigree selection is applied, in general selection is firstpracticed among F₂ plants. In the next season, the most desirable F₃lines are first identified, and then desirable F₃ plants within eachline are selected. The following season and in all subsequentgenerations of inbreeding, the most desirable families are identifiedfirst, then desirable lines within the selected families are chosen, andfinally desirable plants within selected lines are harvestedindividually. A family refers to lines that were derived from plantsselected from the same progeny from the preceding generation.

Using this pedigree method, two parents may be crossed using anemasculated female and a pollen donor (male) to produce F₁ offspring.Lettuce is an obligate self-pollination species, which means that pollenis shed before stigma emergence, assuring 100% self-fertilization.Therefore, in order to optimize crossing, a method of misting may beused to wash the pollen off prior to fertilization to assure crossing orhybridization.

Parental varieties are selected from commercial varieties thatindividually exhibit one or more desired phenotypes. Additionally, anybreeding method involving selection of plants for the desired phenotypecan be used in the method of the present invention.

The F₁ may be self-pollinated to produce a segregating F₂ generation.Individual plants may then be selected which represent the desiredphenotype in each generation (F₃, F₄, F₅, etc.) until the traits arehomozygous or fixed within a breeding population.

Lettuce variety 79-25 RZ was developed by crossing lines 47086 and 57007under glasshouse conditions in Fijnaart, The Netherlands, in 2007. TheF1 resulting from this cross was grown for seed production in Fijnaart,The Netherlands, and an F2 plant was selected under glasshouseconditions in 2008, after which F3 seed was obtained throughself-pollination in De Lier, The Netherlands, in 2008, where also F4seed production took place. Subsequently, an F4 plant was selected outof the F4 seeds in 2009. The subsequent round for the F5 took placeagain in Fijnaart, The Netherlands, in 2009. Finally, a uniform F6 linecalled 11R. 1537 was established and designated as variety 79-25 RZ.This line was multiplied in a glasshouse in Hoek van Holland, TheNetherlands in 2010, of which 2500 seeds were deposited under AccessionNo. NCIMB 41873 on Oct. 17, 2011.

In one embodiment, a plant of the invention has all the morphologicaland physiological characteristics of lettuce variety 79-25 RZ. Thesecharacteristics of a lettuce plant of the invention, e.g. variety 79-25RZ, are summarized in Tables 1, 2, and 3.

Next to the morphological and physiological characteristics mentioned inTables 1, 2, and 3, a plant of the invention also exhibits resistance todowny mildew races Bl:1-28 and CA-I, CA-IIA, CA-IIB, CA-III to CA-VIII(Bremia lactucae Regel.).

As used herein resistance against Bremia lactucae Regel. is defined asthe ability of a plant to resist infection by each of the variousstrains Bl:1-28, and CA-I, CA-IIA, CA-IIB, CA-III to CA-VIII of Bremialactucae Regel. in all stages between the seedling stage and theharvestable plant stage. Bl:1 to Bl:28 means strains NL1, NL2, NL4, NL5,NL6, NL7, NL10, NL12, NL13, NL14, NL15, NL16, Bl:17, Bl:18, Bl:20,Bl:21, Bl:22, Bl:23, Bl:24, Bl:25, Bl:26, Bl:27, Bl:28 (Van Ettekoven K,Van der Arend AJM, 1999. identification and denomination of ‘new’ racesof Bremia lactucae. In: Lebeda A, Kristkova E (eds.) Eucarpia leafyvegetables '99. Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic, 1999:171-175; Van der Arend, A. J. M., Gautier, J., Guenard, M., Michel, H.,Moreau, B., de Ruijter, J., Schut, J. W. and de Witte, I. (2003).Identification and denomination of ‘new’ races of Bremia lactucae inEurope by IBEB until 2002. In: Eucarpia leafy vegetables 2003.Proceedings of the Eucarpia Meeting on leafy vegetables genetics andbreeding. Noorwijkerhout, The Netherlands. Eds. Van Hintum T., LebedaA., Pink D., Schut J. pp 151-160; Van der Arend et al. “Identificationand denomination of “new” races of Bremia lactucae in Europe by IBEBuntil 2002.” In: Van Hintum, Th et al. (eds.), Eucarpia Leafy VegetablesConference 2003, Centre for Genetic Resources, Wageningen, TheNetherlands, p. 151; Plantum NL (Dutch association for breeding, tissueculture, production and trade of seeds and young plants); IBEB pressrelease “New race of Bremia lactucae Bl:27 identified and nominated”,May 2010; Plantum NL (Dutch association for breeding, tissue culture,production and trade of seeds and young plants), “New race of Bremialactucae Bl:28 identified and nominated”, March 2011), Ca-I, Ca-IIA,Ca-IIB, Ca-III, Ca-IV (Schettini, T. M., Legg, E. J., Michelmore, R. W.,1991. Insensitivity to metalaxyl in California populations of Bremialactucae and resistance of California lettuce cultivars to downy mildew.Phytopathology 81(1). p. 64-70, and Ca-V, Ca-VI, Ca-VII, Ca-VIII(Michelmore R. & Ochoa. 0. “Breeding Crisphead Lettuce.” In: CaliforniaLettuce Research Board, Annual Report 2005-2006, 2006, Salinas, Calif.,pp. 55-68).

Resistance typically is tested by two interchangeable methods, describedby Bonnier, F. J. M. et al. (Euphytica, 61(3):203-211, 1992;incorporated herein by reference). One method involves inoculating 7-dayold seedlings, and observing sporulation 10 to 14 days later. The othermethod involves inoculating leaf discs with a diameter of 18 mm obtainedfrom a non-senescent, fully grown true leaf and observing sporulation 10days later.

As used herein, deeply red is a red color comparable to the varietyRuby. Under long-day outdoor conditions at a latitude of 52°, i.e.sowing 50 days before the longest day, in an Oceanic climate(Köppen-classification: Cfb; McKnight & Hess, 2000. Physical Geography:A Landscape Appreciation. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall) amature leaf has a red color comparable to RHS 186C.

As used herein, a medium-sized plant is a plant with a spread of frameleaves which is less than that of a plant of the variety Saravia, grownunder the same conditions when sown under long-day outdoor conditions ata latitude of 52°, i.e. sowing 50 days before the longest day, in anOceanic climate (Köppen-classification: Cfb; McKnight & Hess, 2000.Physical Geography: A Landscape Appreciation. Upper Saddle River, N.J.:Prentice Hall).

As used herein, an acceptable product for consumers and/or the lettuceprocessing industry is defined as the absence of tipburn, a high numberof relatively uniform-sized, three-dimensional, i.e. non-flat, lettuceleaf pieces with small-sized cut surfaces, which have preferably beenobtained by mechanical harvesting.

As used herein, intensely red leaves are defined as leaves with ananthocyanin distribution throughout the leaf and an anthocyaninconcentration which is higher in comparison to the standard variety RedSalad Bowl.

As used herein, the characteristics of the leaf blade is by comparisonto the standard variety Lagon (UPOV guidelines for the conduct of testsfor distinctness, uniformity and stability, TG/13/10, UPOV, Geneva,2006).

As used herein, bolting is measured as the number of days from firstwater date to seed stalk emergence. Bolting class is also related tobolting. As used herein, bolting class is based on a scale from 1 to 5where 1=very slow, 2=slow, 3=medium, 4=rapid, 5=very rapid. As usedherein, the characteristic of bolting is by comparison to standardvarieties. Embodiments of the inventions advantageously have one ormore, and most advantageously all, of these characteristics.

In Table 1, the seed color, cotyledon shape and characteristics of thefourth leaf of “79-25 RZ” is compared with “Saravia” and “Red SaladBowl”.

TABLE 1 Red Character “79-25 RZ” Saravia Salad Bowl Plant TypeCutting/leaf Cutting/leaf Cutting/leaf Seed Color White White BlackCotyledon Shape Broad Intermediate Intermediate Shape of Fourth LeafElongated Elongated Pinnately lobed Rolling of Fourth Leaf PresentPresent Present Cupping of Fourth Leaf Uncupped Uncupped UncuppedReflexing of Fourth Leaf Apical margin Apical margin None Fourth LeafApical Very coarsely Finely dentate Lobed Margin dentate Fourth LeafBasal Incised Incised Coarsely Margin dentate Undulation Slight Slightto Flat to slight medium Green color Light green Light green Light greenAnthocyanin distribution Throughout Throughout Throughout AnthocyaninVery intense Moderate Light concentration to intense

In Table 2, the mature leaf and head characteristics of “79-25 RZ” iscompared with “Saravia” and “Red Salad Bowl”. RHS=Royal HorticuluralSociety color chart code.

TABLE 2 Red Character “79-25 RZ” Saravia Salad Bowl Leaf Color Red RedBrownish red Anthocyanin Throughout Throughout Throughout DistributionAnthocyanin Very intense, more Intense Moderate concentration thanSaravia (RHS (RHS 186C) 186C) Margin Incision Deep Deep Shallow to Depthmoderate Margin Shallowly to deeply Shallowly to Shallowly Indentationdentate deeply dentate dentate Undulations Slight to moderate ModerateSlight of the Apical Margin Leaf Size Small to Medium Medium Medium(Smaller than Saravia) Leaf Glossiness Glossy Glossy Moderate LeafBlistering Absent Absent Strong Leaf Thickness Thin Thin Thin TrichomesAbsent Absent Absent Head Shape Non-heading Non-heading Non-heading ButtShape Rounded Rounded Rounded Midrib Moderately raised ModeratelyModerately raised raised

In Table 3, the bolting characteristics of “79-25 RZ” are compared with“Saravia” and “Red Salad Bowl”.

Character “79-25 RZ” Saravia Red Salad Bowl Bolting class Very rapidMedium Rapid Number of days form 93 121 108 first water date to seedstalk emergence Color bolter leaves Very dark red Dark red Medium redTerminal Absent Present Absent inflorescence Lateral shoots AbsentAbsent Absent Basal side shoots Absent Absent Present

In an embodiment, the invention relates to lettuce plants that has allthe morphological and physiological characteristics of the invention andhave acquired said characteristics by introduction of the geneticinformation that is responsible for the characteristics from a suitablesource, either by conventional breeding, or genetic modification, inparticular by cisgenesis or transgenesis. Cisgenesis is geneticmodification of plants with a natural gene, coding for an (agricultural)trait, from the crop plant itself or from a sexually compatible donorplant. Transgenesis is genetic modification of a plant with a gene froma non-crossable species or a synthetic gene.

Just as useful traits that can be introduced by backcrossing, usefultraits can be introduced directly into the plant of the invention, beinga plant of lettuce variety 79-25 RZ, by genetic transformationtechniques; and, such plants of lettuce variety 79-25 RZ that haveadditional genetic information introduced into the genome or thatexpress additional traits by having the DNA coding there for introducedinto the genome via transformation techniques, are within the ambit ofthe invention, as well as uses of such plants, and the making of suchplants.

Genetic transformation may therefore be used to insert a selectedtransgene into the plant of the invention, being a plant of lettucevariety 79-25 RZ or may, alternatively, be used for the preparation oftransgenes which can be introduced by backcrossing. Methods for thetransformation of plants, including lettuce, are well known to those ofskill in the art.

Vectors used for the transformation of lettuce cells are not limited solong as the vector can express an inserted DNA in the cells. Forexample, vectors which may comprise promoters for constitutive geneexpression in lettuce cells (e.g., cauliflower mosaic virus 35Spromoter) and promoters inducible by exogenous stimuli can be used.Examples of suitable vectors include pBI binary vector. The “lettucecell” into which the vector is to be introduced includes various formsof lettuce cells, such as cultured cell suspensions, protoplasts, leafsections, and callus. A vector can be introduced into lettuce cells byknown methods, such as the polyethylene glycol method, polycationmethod, electroporation, Agrobacterium-mediated transfer, particlebombardment and direct DNA uptake by protoplasts. To effecttransformation by electroporation, one may employ either friabletissues, such as a suspension culture of cells or embryogenic callus oralternatively one may transform immature embryos or other organizedtissue directly. In this technique, one would partially degrade the cellwalls of the chosen cells by exposing them to pectin-degrading enzymes(pectolyases) or mechanically wound tissues in a controlled manner.

A particularly efficient method for delivering transforming DNA segmentsto plant cells is microprojectile bombardment. In this method, particlesare coated with nucleic acids and delivered into cells by a propellingforce. Exemplary particles include those comprised of tungsten,platinum, and preferably, gold. For the bombardment, cells in suspensionare concentrated on filters or solid culture medium. Alternatively,immature embryos or other target cells may be arranged on solid culturemedium. The cells to be bombarded are positioned at an appropriatedistance below the macroprojectile stopping plate. An illustrativeembodiment of a method for delivering DNA into plant cells byacceleration is the Biolistics Particle Delivery System, which can beused to propel particles coated with DNA or cells through a screen, suchas a stainless steel or Nytex screen, onto a surface covered with targetlettuce cells. The screen disperses the particles so that they are notdelivered to the recipient cells in large aggregates. It is believedthat a screen intervening between the projectile apparatus and the cellsto be bombarded reduces the size of projectiles aggregate and maycontribute to a higher frequency of transformation by reducing thedamage inflicted on the recipient cells by projectiles that are toolarge. Microprojectile bombardment techniques are widely applicable, andmay be used to transform virtually any plant species, including a plantof lettuce variety 79-25 RZ.

Agrobacterium-mediated transfer is another widely applicable system forintroducing gene loci into plant cells. An advantage of the technique isthat DNA can be introduced into whole plant tissues, thereby bypassingthe need for regeneration of an intact plant from a protoplast.Agrobacterium transformation vectors are capable of replication in E.coli as well as Agrobacterium, allowing for convenient manipulations.Moreover, advances in vectors for Agrobacterium-mediated gene transferhave improved the arrangement of genes and restriction sites in thevectors to facilitate the construction of vectors capable of expressingvarious polypeptide coding genes. The vectors have convenientmulti-linker regions flanked by a promoter and a polyadenylation sitefor direct expression of inserted polypeptide coding genes.Additionally, Agrobacterium containing both armed and disarmed Ti genescan be used for transformation. In those plant strains whereAgrobacterium-mediated transformation is efficient, it is the method ofchoice because of the facile and defined nature of the gene locustransfer. The use of Agrobacterium-mediated plant integrating vectors tointroduce DNA into plant cells, including lettuce plant cells, is wellknown in the art (See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,250,560 and 5,563,055).

Transformation of plant protoplasts also can be achieved using methodsbased on calcium phosphate precipitation, polyethylene glycol treatment,electroporation, and combinations of these treatments.

A number of promoters have utility for plant gene expression for anygene of interest including but not limited to selectable markers,scoreable markers, genes for pest tolerance, disease resistance,nutritional enhancements and any other gene of agronomic interest.Examples of constitutive promoters useful for lettuce plant geneexpression include, but are not limited to, the cauliflower mosaic virus(CaMV) P-35S promoter, a tandemly duplicated version of the CaMV 35Spromoter, the enhanced 35S promoter (P-e35S), the nopaline synthasepromoter, the octopine synthase promoter, the figwort mosaic virus(P-FMV) promoter (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,619), an enhanced version ofthe FMV promoter (P-eFMV) where the promoter sequence of P-FMV isduplicated in tandem, the cauliflower mosaic virus 19S promoter, asugarcane bacilliform virus promoter, a commelina yellow mottle viruspromoter, the promoter for the thylakoid membrane proteins from lettuce(psaD, psaF, psaE, PC, FNR, atpC, atpD, cab, rbcS) (see U.S. Pat. No.7,161,061), the CAB-1 promoter from lettuce (see U.S. Pat. No.7,663,027), the promoter from maize prolamin seed storage protein (seeU.S. Pat. No. 7,119,255), and other plant DNA virus promoters known toexpress in plant cells. A variety of plant gene promoters that areregulated in response to environmental, hormonal, chemical, and/ordevelopmental signals can be used for expression of an operably linkedgene in plant cells, including promoters regulated by (1) heat, (2)light (e.g., pea rbcS-3A promoter, maize rbcS promoter, or chlorophylla/b-binding protein promoter), (3) hormones, such as abscisic acid, (4)wounding (e.g., wunl, or (5) chemicals such as methyl jasmonate,salicylic acid, or Safener. It may also be advantageous to employorgan-specific promoters.

Exemplary nucleic acids which may be introduced to the lettuce varietyof this invention include, for example, DNA sequences or genes fromanother species, or even genes or sequences which originate with or arepresent in lettuce species, but are incorporated into recipient cells bygenetic engineering methods rather than classical reproduction orbreeding techniques. However, the term “exogenous” is also intended torefer to genes that are not normally present in the cell beingtransformed, or perhaps simply not present in the form, structure, etc.,as found in the transforming DNA segment or gene, or genes which arenormally present and that one desires to express in a manner thatdiffers from the natural expression pattern, e.g., to over-express.Thus, the term “exogenous” gene or DNA is intended to refer to any geneor DNA segment that is introduced into a recipient cell, regardless ofwhether a similar gene may already be present in such a cell. The typeof DNA included in the exogenous DNA can include DNA which is alreadypresent in the plant cell, DNA from another plant, DNA from a differentorganism, or a DNA generated externally, such as a DNA sequencecontaining an antisense message of a gene, or a DNA sequence encoding asynthetic or modified version of a gene.

Many hundreds if not thousands of different genes are known and couldpotentially be introduced into a plant of lettuce variety 79-25 RZ.Non-limiting examples of particular genes and corresponding phenotypesone may choose to introduce into a lettuce plant include one or moregenes for insect tolerance, pest tolerance such as genes for fungaldisease control, herbicide tolerance, and genes for quality improvementssuch as yield, nutritional enhancements, environmental or stresstolerances, or any desirable changes in plant physiology, growth,development, morphology or plant product(s).

Alternatively, the DNA coding sequences can affect these phenotypes byencoding a non-translatable RNA molecule that causes the targetedinhibition of expression of an endogenous gene, for example viaantisense- or cosuppression-mediated mechanisms. The RNA could also be acatalytic RNA molecule (i.e., a ribozyme) engineered to cleave a desiredendogenous mRNA product. Thus, any gene which produces a protein or mRNAwhich expresses a phenotype or morphology change of interest is usefulfor the practice of the present invention. (See also U.S. Pat. No.7,576,262, “Modified gene-silencing RNA and uses thereof”)

U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,230,158, 7,122,720, 7,081,363, 6,734,341, 6,503,732,6,392,121, 6,087,560, 5,981,181, 5,977,060, 5,608,146, 5,516,667, eachof which, and all documents cited therein are hereby incorporated hereinby reference, consistent with the above INCORPORATION BY REFERENCEsection, are additionally cited as examples of U.S. patents that mayconcern transformed lettuce and/or methods of transforming lettuce orlettuce plant cells, and techniques from these US patents, as well aspromoters, vectors, etc., may be employed in the practice of thisinvention to introduce exogenous nucleic acid sequence(s) into a plantof lettuce variety 79-25 RZ (or cells thereof), and exemplify someexogenous nucleic acid sequence(s) which can be introduced into a plantof lettuce variety 79-25 RZ (or cells thereof) of the invention, as wellas techniques, promoters, vectors etc., to thereby obtain further plantsof lettuce variety 79-25 RZ, plant parts and cells, seeds, otherpropagation material harvestable parts of these plants, etc. of theinvention, e.g. tissue culture, including a cell or protoplast, such asan embryo, meristem, cotyledon, pollen, leaf, anther, root, root tip,pistil, flower, seed or stalk.

The invention further relates to propagation material for producingplants of the invention. Such propagation material may comprise interalia seeds of the claimed plant and parts of the plant that are involvedin sexual reproduction. Such parts are for example selected from thegroup consisting of seeds, microspores, pollen, ovaries, ovules, embryosacs and egg cells. In addition, the invention relates to propagationmaterial which may comprise parts of the plant that are suitable forvegetative reproduction, for example cuttings, roots, stems, cells,protoplasts.

According to a further aspect thereof the propagation material of theinvention may comprise a tissue culture of the claimed plant. The tissueculture may comprise regenerable cells. Such tissue culture can bederived from leaves, pollen, embryos, cotyledon, hypocotyls,meristematic cells, roots, root tips, anthers, flowers, seeds and stems.(See generally U.S. Pat. No. 7,041,876 on lettuce being recognized as aplant that can be regenerated from cultured cells or tissue).

Also, the invention comprehends methods for producing a seed of a “79-25RZ”-derived lettuce plant which may comprise (a) crossing a plant oflettuce variety 79-25 RZ, representative seed of which having beendeposited under NCIMB Accession No. NCIMB 41873, with a second lettuceplant, and (b) whereby seed of a “79-25 RZ”-derived lettuce plant form(e.g., by allowing the plant from the cross to grow to producing seed).Such a method can further comprise (c) crossing a plant grown from“79-25 RZ”-derived lettuce seed with itself or with a second lettuceplant to yield additional “79-25 RZ”-derived lettuce seed, and selectingplants exhibiting a combination of traits including resistance to downymildew races Bl:1 to Bl:28 and CA-I, CA-IIA, CA-IIB, CA-III to CA-VIII(Bremia lactucae Regel), as well as deeply red, crisp, deeply-incised,nicely-filled leaves, and a small plant size, (d) growing the additional“79-25 RZ”-derived lettuce seed of step (c) to yield additional “79-25RZ”-derived lettuce plants, and (e) repeating the crossing and growingof steps (c) and (d) for an additional 3-10 generations to generatefurther “79-25 RZ”-derived lettuce plants that exhibit a combination oftraits including resistance to downy mildew races Bl:1 to Bl:28 andCA-I, CA-IIA, CA-IIB, CA-III to CA-VIII (Bremia lactucae Regel), as wellas deeply red, crisp, deeply-incised, nicely-filled leaves, and a smallplant size.

The invention additionally provides a method of introducing a desiredtrait into a plant of lettuce variety 79-25 RZ which may comprise: (a)crossing a plant of lettuce variety 79-25 RZ, representative seed ofwhich having been deposited under NCIMB Accession No. NCIMB 41873, witha second lettuce plant that may comprise a desired trait to produce F1progeny; (b) selecting an F1 progeny that may comprise the desiredtrait; (c) crossing the selected F1 progeny with a plant of lettucevariety 79-25 RZ, to produce backcross progeny; (d) selecting backcrossprogeny which may comprise the desired trait and the physiological andmorphological characteristic of a plant of lettuce variety 79-25 RZ;and, optionally, (e) repeating steps (c) and (d) one or more times insuccession to produce selected fourth or higher backcross progeny thatcomprise the desired trait and all of the physiological andmorphological characteristics of a plant of lettuce variety 79-25 RZ,when grown in the same environmental conditions. The invention, ofcourse, includes a lettuce plant produced by this method.

Backcrossing can also be used to improve an inbred plant. Backcrossingtransfers a specific desirable trait from one inbred or non-inbredsource to an inbred that lacks that trait. This can be accomplished, forexample, by first crossing a superior inbred (A) (recurrent parent) to adonor inbred (non-recurrent parent), which carries the appropriate locusor loci for the trait in question. The progeny of this cross are thenmated back to the superior recurrent parent (A) followed by selection inthe resultant progeny for the desired trait to be transferred from thenon-recurrent parent. After five or more backcross generations withselection for the desired trait, the progeny are heterozygous for locicontrolling the characteristic being transferred, but are like thesuperior parent for most or almost all other loci. The last backcrossgeneration would be selfed to give pure breeding progeny for the traitbeing transferred. When a plant of lettuce variety 79-25 RZ,representative seed of which having been deposited under NCIMB AccessionNo. NCIMB 41873, is used in backcrossing, offspring retaining thecombination of traits including resistance to downy mildew races Bl:1 toBl:28 and CA-I, CA-IIA, CA-IIB, CA-III to Ca-VIII (Bremia lactucaeRegel), as well as deeply red, crisp, deeply-incised, nicely-frilledleaves, and a small plant size are progeny within the ambit of theinvention. Backcrossing methods can be used with the present inventionto improve or introduce a characteristic into a plant of the invention,being a plant of lettuce variety 79-25 RZ. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No.7,705,206 (incorporated herein by reference consistent with the aboveINCORPORATION BY REFERENCE section), for a general discussion relatingto backcrossing.

The invention further involves a method of determining the genotype of aplant of lettuce variety 79-25 RZ, representative seed of which has beendeposited under NCIMB Accession No. NCIMB 41873, or a first generationprogeny thereof, which may comprise obtaining a sample of nucleic acidsfrom said plant and detecting in said nucleic acids a plurality ofpolymorphisms. This method may additionally comprise the step of storingthe results of detecting the plurality of polymorphisms on a computerreadable medium. The plurality of polymorphisms may be indicative ofand/or give rise to the expression of the morphological andphysiological characteristics of lettuce variety 79-25 RZ.

There are various ways of obtaining genotype data from a nucleic acidsample. Genotype data may be gathered which is specific for certainphenotypic traits (e.g. gene sequences), but also patterns of randomgenetic variation may be obtained to construct a so-called DNAfingerprint. Depending on the technique used a fingerprint may beobtained that is unique for lettuce variety 79-25 RZ. Obtaining a uniqueDNA fingerprint depends on the genetic variation present in a varietyand the sensitivity of the fingerprinting technique. A technique knownin the art to provide a good fingerprint profile is called AFLPfingerprinting technique (See generally U.S. Pat. No. 5,874,215), butthere are many other marker based techniques, such as RFLP (orRestriction fragment length polymorphism), SSLP (or Simple sequencelength polymorphism), RAPD (or Random amplification of polymorphic DNA)VNTR (or Variable number tandem repeat), Microsatellite polymorphism,SSR (or Simple sequence repeat), STR (or Short tandem repeat), SFP (orSingle feature polymorphism) DArT (or Diversity Arrays Technology), RADmarkers (or Restriction site associated DNA markers) (e.g. Baird et al.PloS One Vol. 3 e3376, 2008; Semagn et al. African Journal ofBiotechnology Vol. 5 number 25 pp. 2540-2568, 29 December, 2006).Nowadays, sequence-based methods are utilizing Single NucleotidePolymorphisms (SNPs) that are randomly distributed across genomes, as acommon tool for genotyping (e.g. Elshire et al. PloS One Vol. 6: e19379,2011; Poland et al. PloS One Vol. 7: e32253; Truong et al. PLoS One Vol.7 number 5: e37565, 2012).

With any of the aforementioned genotyping techniques, polymorphisms maybe detected when the genotype and/or sequence of the plant of interestis compared to the genotype and/or sequence of one or more referenceplants. As used herein, the genotype and/or sequence of a referenceplant may be derived from, but is not limited to, any one of thefollowing: parental lines, closely related plant varieties or species,complete genome sequence of a related plant variety or species, or thede novo assembled genome sequence of one or more related plant varietiesor species. For example, it is possible to detect polymorphisms for theresistance to downy mildew races Bl:1 to Bl:28, CA-I, CA-IIA, CA-IIB,CA-III to CA-VIII (Bremia lactucae Regel) by comparing the genotypeand/or the sequence of lettuce variety 79-25 RZ with the genotype and/orthe sequence of one or more reference plants. The reference plant(s)used for comparison may for example be, but is not limited to, any ofthe comparison varieties, Saravia or Red Salad Bowl.

The polymorphism revealed by these techniques may be used to establishlinks between genotype and phenotype. The polymorphisms may thus be usedto predict or identify certain phenotypic characteristics, individuals,or even species. The polymorphisms are generally called markers. It iscommon practice for the skilled artisan to apply molecular DNAtechniques for generating polymorphisms and creating markers.

The polymorphisms of this invention may be provided in a variety ofmediums to facilitate use, e.g. a database or computer readable medium,which may also contain descriptive annotations in a form that allows askilled artisan to examine or query the polymorphisms and obtain usefulinformation.

As used herein “database” refers to any representation of retrievablecollected data including computer files such as text files, databasefiles, spreadsheet files and image files, printed tabulations andgraphical representations and combinations of digital and image datacollections. In a preferred aspect of the invention, “database” refersto a memory system that can store computer searchable information.

As used herein, “computer readable media” refers to any medium that maybe read and accessed directly by a computer. Such media include, but arenot limited to: magnetic storage media, such as floppy discs, hard disc,storage medium and magnetic tape; optical storage media such as CD-ROM;electrical storage media such as RAM, DRAM, SRAM, SDRAM, ROM; and PROMs(EPROM, EEPROM, Flash EPROM), and hybrids of these categories such asmagnetic/optical storage media. A skilled artisan can readily appreciatehow any of the presently known computer readable mediums can be used tocreate a manufacture which may comprise computer readable medium havingrecorded thereon a polymorphism of the present invention.

As used herein, “recorded” refers to the result of a process for storinginformation in a retrievable database or computer readable medium. Forinstance, a skilled artisan can readily adopt any of the presently knownmethods for recording information on computer readable medium togenerate media which may comprise the polymorphisms of the presentinvention. A variety of data storage structures are available to askilled artisan for creating a computer readable medium where the choiceof the data storage structure will generally be based on the meanschosen to access the stored information. In addition, a variety of dataprocessor programs and formats may be used to store the polymorphsims ofthe present invention on computer readable medium.

The present invention further provides systems, particularlycomputer-based systems, which contain the polymorphisms describedherein. Such systems are designed to identify the polymorphisms of thisinvention. As used herein, “a computer-based system” refers to thehardware, software and memory used to analyze the polymorphisms. Askilled artisan can readily appreciate that any one of the currentlyavailable computer-based system are suitable for use in the presentinvention.

Lettuce leaves are sold in packaged form, including without limitationas pre-packaged lettuce salad or as lettuce heads. Mention is made ofU.S. Pat. No. 5,523,136, incorporated herein by reference consistentwith the above INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE section, which providespackaging film, and packages from such packaging film, including suchpackaging containing leafy produce, and methods for making and usingsuch packaging film and packages, which are suitable for use with thelettuce leaves of the invention. Thus, the invention comprehends the useof and methods for making and using the leaves of the lettuce plant ofthe invention, as well as leaves of lettuce plants derived from theinvention. The invention further relates to a container which maycomprise one or more plants of the invention, or one or more lettuceplants derived from a plant of the invention, in a growth substrate forharvest of leaves from the plant in a domestic environment. This way theconsumer can pick very fresh leaves for use in salads. More generally,the invention includes one or more plants of the invention or one ormore plants derived from lettuce of the invention, wherein the plant isin a ready-to-harvest condition, including with the consumer picking hisown, and further including a container which may comprise one or more ofthese plants.

Although the present invention and its advantages have been described indetail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions andalterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

The invention is further described by the following numbered paragraphs:

1. Lettuce plant exhibiting a combination of traits including resistanceto downy mildew races Bl:1 to Bl:28 and CA-I, CA-IIA, CA-IIB, CA-III toCA-VIII (Bremia lactucae Regel), as well as deeply red, crisp,deeply-incised, nicely-frilled leaves, and a small plant size,representative seed of which having been deposited under NCIMB AccessionNo. 41873.

2. Lettuce plant designated 79-25 RZ, representative seed of whichhaving been deposited under NCIMB Accession No. 41873.

3. A seed of the plant of paragraph 1.

4. Parts of the plant of paragraph 1 or paragraph 2, wherein said partsof the plant are suitable for sexual reproduction.

5. Parts of the plant of paragraph 4, said parts selected from the groupconsisting of microspores, pollen, ovaries, ovules, embryo sacs and eggcells.

6. Parts of the plant of paragraph 1 or paragraph 2, wherein said partsof the plant are suitable for vegetative reproduction.

7. Parts of paragraph 6, said parts selected from the group consistingof cuttings, roots, stems, cells and protoplasts.

8. A tissue culture of regenerable cells from the lettuce plant ofparagraph 1.

9. A tissue culture of paragraph 8, wherein said cells or protoplasts ofthe tissue culture which are derived from a tissue selected from thegroup consisting of leaves, pollen, embryos, cotyledon, hypocotyls,meristematic cells, roots, root tips, anthers, flowers, seeds and stems.

10. Progeny of a lettuce plant of paragraph 1 or paragraph 2.

11. Progeny of paragraph 10, wherein said progeny is produced by sexualor vegetative reproduction of said lettuce plant, and wherein saidprogeny exhibits a combination of traits including resistance to downymildew races Bl:1 to Bl:28 and CA-I, CA-IIA, CA-IIB, CA-III to CA-VIII(Bremia lactucae Regel), as well as deeply red, crisp, deeply-incised,nicely-frilled leaves, and a small plant size.

12. Progeny of a lettuce plant of paragraph 2, having all themorphological and physiological characteristics of the lettuce plant ofparagraph 2, representative seed of which having been deposited underNCIMB Accession No. 41873 wherein as found in lettuce variety 79-25 RZ,representative seed of which having been deposited under NCIMB AccessionNo. 41873.

13. Progeny of a lettuce plant of paragraph 1 or paragraph 2,representative seed of which having been deposited under NCIMB Accession41873, and is modified in one or more other characteristics.

14. Progeny of paragraph 13, wherein the modification is effected bymutagenesis.

15. Progeny of paragraph 13, wherein the modification is effected bytransformation with a transgene.

16. A method of producing a hybrid lettuce seed comprising crossing afirst parent lettuce plant with a second parent lettuce plant andharvesting the resultant hybrid lettuce seed, wherein said first parentlettuce plant or said second parent lettuce plant is the lettuce plantof paragraph 1.

17. A hybrid lettuce plant produced by the method of paragraph 16.

18. A method of producing a lettuce cultivar containing a combination oftraits including resistance to downy mildew races Bl:1 to Bl:28 andCA-I, CA-IIA, CA-IIB, CA-III to CA-VIII (Bremia lactucae Regel), as wellas deeply red, crisp, deeply-incised, nicely-filled leaves, and a smallplant size, comprising: crossing a mother lettuce plant with a fatherlettuce plant to produce a hybrid seed; growing said hybrid seed toproduce a hybrid plant; selfing said hybrid seed to produce F2 progenyseed; selecting said F2-plants for exhibiting resistance to downymildewraces Bl:1 to Bl:28 and CA-I, CA-IIA, CA-IIB, CA-III to CA-VIII(Bremia lactucae Regel), as well as deeply red, crisp, deeply-incised,nicely-filled leaves, and a small plant size, and, selfing said selectedF2-plants to produce F3 progeny seed; selecting F3-plants for exhibitingresistance to downy mildew races Bl:1 to Bl:28 and CA-I, CA-IIA, CA-IIB,CA-III to CA-VIII (Bremia lactucae Regel), as well as deeply red, crisp,deeply-incised, nicely-frilled leaves, and a small plant size,optionally followed by more selfing and selection steps.

19. A lettuce cultivar produced by the method of paragraph 18.

20. A method for producing lettuce leaves as a fresh vegetablecomprising packaging leaves of a plant of paragraph 1.

21. A method for producing lettuce leaves as a processed food comprisingprocessing leaves of a plant of paragraph 1.

22. One or more lettuce plants of paragraph 1, in a container, forharvest of leaves.

23. Lettuce plant having morphological and/or physiologicalcharacteristics of a lettuce plant, representative seed of which havingbeen deposited under NCIMB Accession No. 41873.

24. Lettuce plant of paragraph 22 having all the morphological andphysiological characteristics of the lettuce plant, representative seedof which having been deposited under NCIMB Accession No. 41873.

25. A method of introducing a desired trait into a plant of lettucevariety 79-25 RZ comprising: (a) crossing a plant of lettuce variety79-25 RZ, representative seed of which having been deposited under NCIMBAccession No. NCIMB 41873, with a second lettuce plant that comprisesthe desired trait to produce F1 progeny; (b) selecting an F1 progenythat comprises the desired trait; (c) crossing the selected F1 progenywith a plant of lettuce variety 79-25 RZ, to produce backcross progenyand (d) selecting backcross progeny comprising the desired trait and thephysiological and morphological characteristic of a plant of lettucevariety 79-25 RZ, when grown in the same environmental conditions.

26. The method of paragraph 25 further comprising (e) repeating steps(c) and (d) one or more times in succession to produce selected fourthor higher backcross progeny that comprise the desired trait and all ofthe physiological and morphological characteristics of a plant oflettuce variety 79-25 RZ, when grown in the same environmentalconditions.

27. A lettuce plant produced by the method of paragraph 25 or paragraph26.

28. A method for producing a seed of a 79-25 RZ-derived lettuce plantcomprising (a) crossing a plant of lettuce variety 79-25 RZ,representative seed of which having been deposited under NCIMB AccessionNo. NCIMB 41873, with a second lettuce plant, and (b) whereby seed of a79-25 RZ-derived lettuce plant form.

29. The method of paragraph 28 further comprising (c) crossing a plantgrown from 79-25 RZ-derived lettuce seed with itself or with a secondlettuce plant to yield additional 79-25 RZ-derived lettuce seed, (d)growing the additional 79-25 RZ-derived lettuce seed of step (c) toyield additional 79-25 RZ-derived lettuce plants, and (e) repeating thecrossing and growing of steps (c) and (d) for an additional 3-10generations to generate further 79-25 RZ-derived lettuce plants.

30. The method of paragraph 28 or 29 further comprising selecting atsteps a), c), and e), a 79-25 RZ-derived plant, exhibiting a combinationof traits including resistance to downy mildew races Bl:1 to Bl:28 andCA-I, CA-IIA, CA-IIB, CA-III to CA-VIII (Bremia lactucae Regel), as wellas deeply red, crisp, deeply-incised, nicely-frilled leaves, and a smallplant size.

31. Seed produced by the method of paragraphs 28 to 30.

32. A method of determining the genotype of a plant of lettuce variety79-25 RZ, representative seed of which has been deposited under NCIMBAccession No. NCIMB 41873, or a first generation progeny thereof,comprising obtaining a sample of nucleic acids from said plant andcomparing said nucleic acids to a sample of nucleic acids obtained froma reference plant, and detecting a plurality of polymorphisms betweenthe two nucleic acid samples, wherein the plurality of polymorphisms areindicative of lettuce variety 79-25 RZ and/or give rise to theexpression of any one or more morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of the lettuce plant of paragraph 1.

33. The method of paragraph 32 additionally comprising the step ofstoring the results of detecting the plurality of polymorphisms on acomputer readable medium, or transmitting the results of detecting theplurality of polymorphisms.

34. The computer readable medium of paragraph 33.

Having thus described in detail preferred embodiments of the presentinvention, it is to be understood that the invention defined by theabove paragraphs is not to be limited to particular details set forth inthe above description as many apparent variations thereof are possiblewithout departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A lettuce plant exhibiting a combination oftraits including resistance to downy mildew races Bl:1 to Bl:28 andCA-I, CAIIA, CA-IIB, CA-III to CA-VIII (Bremia lactucae Regel), as wellas deeply red, crisp, deeply-incised, nicely-frilled leaves, and a smallplant size, representative seed of which having been deposited underNCIMB Accession No.
 41873. 2. A lettuce plant designated 79-25 RZ,representative seed of which having been deposited under NCIMB AccessionNo.
 41873. 3. A seed of the plant of claim
 1. 4. A part of the plant ofclaim 1, wherein said part of the plant is suitable for sexualreproduction.
 5. A part of the plant as claimed in claim 4, said partcomprising a microspore, pollen, an ovary, an ovule, an embryo sac or anegg cell.
 6. A part of the plant of claim 1, wherein said part of theplant is suitable for vegetative reproduction.
 7. A part as claimed inclaim 6, said part comprising a cutting, a root, a stem, a cell or aprotoplast.
 8. A tissue culture of regenerable cells or protoplasts fromthe lettuce plant of claim
 1. 9. A tissue culture as claimed in claim 8,wherein said cells or protoplasts of the tissue culture which arederived from a tissue comprising a leaf, pollen, an embryo, a cotyledon,a hypocotyl, a meristematic cell, a root, a root tip, an anther, aflower, a seed or a stem.
 10. Progeny of the lettuce plant of claim 1,wherein the progeny exhibits the combination of traits of the lettuceplant of claim
 1. 11. Progeny as claimed in claim 10, wherein saidprogeny is produced by sexual or vegetative reproduction of said lettuceplant, and wherein said progeny exhibits a combination of traitsincluding resistance to downy mildew races Bl:1 to Bl:28 and CA-I,CA-IIA, CA-IIB, CA-III to CA-VIII (Bremia lactucae Regel), as well asdeeply red, crisp, deeply-incised, nicely-filled leaves, and a smallplant size.
 12. Progeny of a lettuce plant of claim 2, having all themorphological and physiological characteristics of the lettuce plant ofclaim 2, as found in lettuce variety 79-25 RZ, representative seed ofwhich having been deposited under NCIMB Accession No.
 41873. 13. Progenyof a lettuce plant of claim 1, representative seed of which having beendeposited under NCIMB Accession 41873, wherein the progeny exhibits thecombination of traits of the lettuce plant of claim 1 and wherein theprogeny is further modified in one or more other characteristics. 14.Progeny as claimed in claim 13, wherein the modification is effected bymutagenesis.
 15. Progeny as claimed in claim 13, wherein themodification is effected by transformation with a transgene.
 16. Amethod of producing a hybrid lettuce seed comprising crossing a firstparent lettuce plant with a second parent lettuce plant and harvestingthe resultant hybrid lettuce seed, wherein said first parent lettuceplant or said second parent lettuce plant is the lettuce plant ofclaim
 1. 17. A hybrid lettuce plant produced by the method of claim 16.18. A method of producing a lettuce cultivar containing a combination oftraits including resistance to downy mildew races Bl:1 to Bl:28 andCA-I, CA-IIA, CA-IIB, CA-III to CA-VIII (Bremia lactucae Regel), as wellas deeply red, crisp, deeply-incised, nicely-filled leaves, and a smallplant size, representative seed of which having been deposited underNCIMB Accession No. 41873, comprising: crossing a mother lettuce plantwith a father lettuce plant to produce a hybrid seed; growing saidhybrid seed to produce a hybrid plant; selfing said hybrid seed toproduce F2 progeny seed; selecting said F2-plants for exhibitingresistance to downy mildew races Bl:1 to Bl:28 and CA-I, CA-IIA, CA-IIB,CA-III to CA-VIII (Bremia lactucae Regel), as well as deeply red, crisp,deeply-incised, nicely-filled leaves, and a small plant size, and,selfing said selected F2-plants to produce F3 progeny seed; selectingF3-plants for exhibiting resistance to downy mildew races Bl:1 to Bl:28and CA-I, CA-IIA, CA-IIB, CA-III to CA-VIII (Bremia lactucae Regel), aswell as deeply red, crisp, deeply-incised, nicely-filled leaves, and asmall plant size, representative seed of which having been depositedunder NCIMB Accession No. 41873, optionally followed by more selfing andselection steps.
 19. A lettuce cultivar produced by the method of claim18.
 20. A method for producing lettuce leaves as a fresh vegetablecomprising packaging leaves of a plant of claim
 1. 21. A method forproducing lettuce leaves as a processed food comprising processingleaves of a plant of claim
 1. 22. A lettuce plant containing geneticinformation for exhibiting a combination of traits including resistanceto downy mildew races Bl:1 to Bl:28 and CA-I, CAIIA, CA-IIB, CA-III toCA-VIII (Bremia lactucae Regel), as well as deeply red, crisp,deeply-incised, nicely-frilled leaves, and a small plant size, whereinsaid genetic information is as found in a plant, representative seed ofwhich having been deposited under NCIMB Accession No.
 41873. 23. Thelettuce plant of claim 22 having all the morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of the lettuce plant, representative seed of whichhaving been deposited under NCIMB Accession No.
 41873. 24. A method ofintroducing a desired trait into a plant of lettuce variety 79-25 RZcomprising: (a) crossing a plant of lettuce variety 79-25 RZ,representative seed of which having been deposited under NCIMB AccessionNo. NCIMB 41873, with a second lettuce plant that comprises the desiredtrait to produce F1 progeny; (b) selecting an F1 progeny that comprisesthe desired trait; (c) crossing the selected F1 progeny with a plant oflettuce variety 79-25 RZ, to produce backcross progeny and (d) selectingbackcross progeny comprising the desired trait and physiological andmorphological characteristics of a plant of lettuce variety 79-25 RZ,when grown in the same environmental conditions.
 25. The method of claim24 further comprising (e) repeating steps (c) and (d) one or more timesin succession to produce selected fourth or higher backcross progenythat comprise the desired trait and all of the physiological andmorphological characteristics of a plant of lettuce variety 79-25 RZ,when grown in the same environmental conditions.
 26. A lettuce plantproduced by the method of claim
 24. 27. A method for producing a seed ofa 79-25 RZ-derived lettuce plant comprising (a) crossing a plant oflettuce variety 79-25 RZ, representative seed of which having beendeposited under NCIMB Accession No. NCIMB 41873, with a second lettuceplant, and (b) whereby seed of a 79-25 RZ-derived lettuce plant form.28. The method of claim 27 further comprising (c) crossing a plant grownfrom 79-25 RZ-derived lettuce seed with itself or with a second lettuceplant to yield additional 79-25 RZ-derived lettuce seed, (d) growing theadditional 79-25 RZ-derived lettuce seed of step (c) to yield additional79-25 RZ-derived lettuce plants, and (e) repeating the crossing andgrowing of steps (c) and (d) for an additional 3-10 generations togenerate further 79-25 RZ-derived lettuce plants.
 29. The method ofclaim 28 further comprising selecting at steps (a), (c), and (e), a79-25 RZ-derived lettuce plant, exhibiting a combination of traitsincluding resistance to downy mildew races Bl:1 to Bl:28 and CA-I,CA-IIA, CA-IIB, CA-III to CA-VIII (Bremia lactucae Regel), as well asdeeply red, crisp, deeply-incised, nicely-filled leaves, and a smallplant size.
 30. Seed produced by the method of claim
 27. 31. A method ofdetermining the genotype of a plant of lettuce variety 79-25 RZ,representative seed of which has been deposited under NCIMB AccessionNo. NCIMB 41873, or a first generation progeny thereof, comprisingobtaining a sample of nucleic acids from said plant and comparing saidnucleic acids to a sample of nucleic acids obtained from a referenceplant, and detecting a plurality of polymorphisms between the twonucleic acid samples, wherein the plurality of polymorphisms areindicative of lettuce variety 79-25 RZ and/or give rise to theexpression of the morphological and physiological characteristics oflettuce variety 79-25 RZ as claimed in claim
 1. 32. The method of claim31 additionally comprising the step of storing the results of detectingthe plurality of polymorphisms on a computer readable medium, ortransmitting the results of detecting the plurality of polymorphisms.33. A lettuce plant exhibiting a combination of traits includingresistance to downy mildew races Bl:1 to Bl:28 and CA-I, CAIIA, CA-IIB,CA-III to CA-VIII (Bremia lactucae Regel), as well as deeply red, crisp,deeply-incised, nicely-frilled leaves, and a small plant size, and hasgenetic information for so exhibiting the combination of traits, whereinthe genetic information is as contained in a plant, representative seedof which having been deposited under NCIMB Accession No. 41873.